Sensory Garden update

🌸 Exciting Changes in the Sensory Garden 🌸

As 2026 marks Saundersfoot Community Council's first RHS Wales in Bloom collaboration with the Saundersfoot Wombles under the banner "Blooms, Beaches and Communities", we thought you'd like a sneak peek at some of the improvements taking place in the Sensory Garden, funded through the UK Government Shared Prosperity Fund.

Led by professional gardener David Cox, the garden's main central raised bed is being transformed into a series of dedicated sensory zones, with plants and features grouped around the senses of sight, smell, sound and touch. The new layout will make the garden easier to explore and enjoy, while new interpretation panels, including Braille signage, will help visitors engage more fully with each area.

The result will be an even more immersive, accessible and enjoyable space for residents and visitors alike—a garden designed to be experienced with all the senses. 🌿

Listed below are plants (grouped by sensory type) that have been introduced.

Main Central Raised Border, Zonal Planting Schedule:

Sight: (location: positioned on the trough and main planters side of the border as the planters already lend themselves perfectly to the sense of sight with their vibrant summer blooms).

Rudbeckia ; Leucanthemum; Cosmos; Verbena; Geum; Allium; Geranium hardy perennial (Rozanne); Japanese anemone; Tulips; Dwarf Daffodils; Dogwood;

Heuchera; Buddleia; Weigela; Spirea; Hydrangea; deciduous azalea.

Smell: (location: positioned from the start of the main inside curve of the border, elevated landscaping lends itself to ease of access for this zone).

Star Jasmine (Trachelospermum jasminoides); Lemon scented geranium; Stocks;

Salvia; Sweet Pea, including obelisk for support. Herbs: Chocolate mint; Apple mint;

Golden marjoram; Rosemary; Sage; Lavender.

Shrubs include:Lilac; Philadelphus; Viburnum; Daphne.

Sound: (location: positioned on the bottom corner of the border, between a Holm Oak containing wind chimes within it’s branches and the new three tier cascading water feature.)

Greater quaking grass; Common quaking grass; Poppies (seed heads retained);

Love-in-a-mist (seed heads retained); Clumping bamboo (Fargesia simba);

Clumping bamboo (Hibanobambusa shiroshima);

Wind chimes and a tiered water feature.

Touch: (location: positioned between the Sound and Smell zones, landscaped into an elevated / raised border position to enhance the zones tactile theming.)

Miscanthus and Pennisetum (grasses); Lamb’s ear (perennial); Cryptomeria (conifer);

Senecio ‘Angel Wings’ (perennial); Jerusalem sage; Euonymus alatus; Fatsia Japonica;

Houseleek (Sempervivum) (succulent mix);Tibetan Cherry (tree).

As the garden continues to evolve and develop, in addition to the main border, other areas within the garden have been enhanced / refreshed:

Sensory type: Smell: The raised bed herb garden has been refreshed with new planting whilst retaining the main structural planting such as the central standard bay.

Sensory type: Sound: As we continue to introduce new habitats such as our new mixed shrub woodland border (planted by Wombles Brian, Sam, Diane and Phil with help from SCC) we have endeavoured to encourage additional birdsong, insect sound etc, by increasing the number of wildlife friendly plants and features within the garden, to this end there are a number of additional bird nest boxes / Insect hotels / and specifically within the new woodland border, log piles have been included within the landscaping, all of which are proving to be very worthwhile introductions and additions into the garden.

After a very positive visit from Keep Wales Tidy representative Pob Thomas, we now await the outcome of our recent Green Flag inspection which we hope will see our Green Flag status retained and between July 6th and 8th we will be visited by the judges from RHS Wales in Bloom who will inspect the garden as part of the RHS It’s Your Neighbourhood campaign and the main Wales in Bloom competition. We know many of you thoroughly enjoy spending time in the garden and hope that you will have fine weather this summer to enjoy the new enhancements and hopefully celebrate the village’s success in these competitions.